Hmm well it was a bit of both, Russia were the highest bidder for a contract and Spa one of the lowest bidders so it was a matter of time until Spa got eaten by the bigger dog. It's now a case of finding who the next highest bidder is for a race in 14 months.. If Bernie sees the money this new track brings is not as beneficial to the sport as the prestige of Spa he might not be willing to lose it. (Maybe I give Bernie too much credit)

One would have hope hoped that Valencia would have been killed off once and for all. At least it focuses the minds of anyone intending to apply for F1 hosting rights. A business plan that depends solely on the admission prices to pay the sanctioning fee won't work and only the most short sighted politician is going to plump tax payers money into the project.

Well I'll wait until this has actually been confirmed first, but for once this will hardly be a surprise. Spain's going down the drain, and we all know the events (Valencia especially) are in financial trouble. I'll expect this will be properly finalised sometime relativity soon.

Good news that we have every other year without the sorry excuse that is Valencia, but it's a shame they couldn't replace the two with another Grand Prix somewhere in Spain.

While barcelona isn't the greatest circuit of all times, it sucks that it gets replaced with the snooze fest that is valencia every other year. I think the position of barcelona in the calendar was great to judge the season and also it had the best start of any GP.

It should be a different circuit every year in my eyes. I thought that was the point of it even if the country already was hosting a race, it would be at another venue but in the same country.

That would definitely spice things up if it was held at a different European circuit every year. I hope it doesn't disappear but I also hope it doesn't go to Germany/Hockenheim or something...I'd rather just let it die in that case...

I can't think of any European city that would be willing to invest in Mr E's giant Ponzi scheme. You've got no equity in the project apart from the circuit and Ecclestone not even going to give you the steam off his shit!

This is a horrible decision. Barcelona was however wrecked with the altered final chicane, the last two corners were challenging and really set up overtaking abilities down the straight, but ontop of that I never liked how they tightened the La Caixa curve, they just butchered a circuit that didn't need to get any more boring. Valencia however is a farce that would have to be one of the worst tracks in the world if not THE worst track in the world.

I used to like the Barcelona track before the butchering, which, as pointed out in this thread, start with making turn 10 hairpin in the place of the long corner that used to be there.
Taking out 2 amazingly fast corners and putting a ridiculously slow chicane in it's place was just the final insult.

I don't think Valencia is that bad, it hasn't produced good races so far, but i don't think it's terrible.

Im actaullt very likely going to be in spain this year during the valencia gp. I know it's crap on tv but has anyone been to a race and can tell me what it's like?

Your appreciation of formula one live is different from tv, the main thing is the sound, which even though the engines are not as impressive as teh V10s. they are still loud, and hearng a f1 car in anger, especially the starts, it's a experience that the tv does not prepare you for. Watching the cars accelerate, brake, the appreciation of the speed and acceleration is something that'll make you think, the tv slows things down, but live is a high, especially if it's your first time. The first gp experience is always something special, and if you haven' done it, and your a f1 fan, your missing out, do it once at least in your life time.

I remember going to Imola in 2006, the atmosphere, being there, it was a completely different world, I writ about it alot, and value that experience, it wasn't my first gp, my first gp was silverstone, but Italy is something else you sihould try.

Bottom line, there are better tracks to vist for live, but if this is your only chance this year, do it, seeing the cars live is a real high you can't get from reading about it or watching it on tv. It's kinda like a rollercoaster, you just have to get on and see what this world looks like with your own eyes and ears, and not the tv.

Someone once told me the same thing, and after you go to a gp, you can't help but envy others who haven't done it yet, waiting to get out of the matrix tv world of f1 you've been living in. The first time is unique, then you think about Spa/Monaco and the other ones, but don't let Valencia be your only experience, it's not the best track, probabley the worst, but still seeing it live and having a beer in Spain is still good fun, if it's your only chance this year.

well considering I'm going to be in spain on holiday and there's a grand prix close by which is next to the beach and it will be the middle of summer I suppose it's a bit of a no brainer now that I think about it

funny looks like theres no GA and only grandstand tix, pretty ok price though actually.

The best part is.. my wife demanded we got to valencia when we are in spain. On those dates. HAHAHA!

well considering I'm going to be in spain on holiday and there's a grand prix close by which is next to the beach and it will be the middle of summer I suppose it's a bit of a no brainer now that I think about it

funny looks like theres no GA and only grandstand tix, pretty ok price though actually.

The best part is.. my wife demanded we got to valencia when we are in spain. On those dates. HAHAHA!

She sounds like a good women

Oh and as SeanValen says, by all means go to Valencia but DON'T let that be your only experience of F1 in the flesh. Much better tracks are there to be seen - Silverstone, Spa, Monaco etc etc...

I don't know how to say this without sounding a bit offensive but calling Valencia more boring than Barcelona is freaking ridiculous.

It is also amazing how some people let their bias cloud their perception so much. No it may not be the best circuit in the calendar but just because a certain driver has never won there does not make it crap and boring. Last year's race was great.

I don't know how to say this without sounding a bit offensive but calling Valencia more boring than Barcelona is freaking ridiculous.

It is also amazing how some people let their bias cloud their perception so much. No it may not be the best circuit in the calendar but just because a certain driver has never won there does not make it crap and boring. Last year's race was great.

Do you honestly believe that is why people don't like Valencia? As for last year, yes it was a great race, but one swallow doesn't make a summer. Let's see how the racing is in the future.

A quick google translate on that Spanish link above reveals that homeless are now living under a bridge built specifically for the Gp and the track has turned into a waste ground, calls for the government to do something about it.

A quick google translate on that Spanish link above reveals that homeless are now living under a bridge built specifically for the Gp and the track has turned into a waste ground, calls for the government to do something about it.

I don't know how to say this without sounding a bit offensive but calling Valencia more boring than Barcelona is freaking ridiculous.

It is also amazing how some people let their bias cloud their perception so much. No it may not be the best circuit in the calendar but just because a certain driver has never won there does not make it crap and boring. Last year's race was great.

Remember, I'm not claiming it to be anything. I'm not the one moaning here, just calling people out on their inconsistencies:)

Barcelona has been fairly dull over the years, but occasionally there have been more entertaining races. Last year's duel between Maldonado and Alonso was pretty good for example. At Valencia though the most exciting thing that happened in the first four years was Webber flipping, and the first race has the record for the least amount of overtakes - zero.

I don't know how to say this without sounding a bit offensive but calling Valencia more boring than Barcelona is freaking ridiculous.

It is also amazing how some people let their bias cloud their perception so much. No it may not be the best circuit in the calendar but just because a certain driver has never won there does not make it crap and boring. Last year's race was great.

I suggest you see the date of the posts you are referring too... all before last year's race.

Barcelona is actually an interesting track IMHO. It really pushes the capabilities of the cars, which makes it interesting to watch. There might not be a lot of "passing," but I think most can agree that the kind of "passing" that happens now(DRS bull$%^) is very dull and adds nothing to the race.

Valencia on the other hand is a pathetic track with no redeeming features. It's incredibly dull to watch, there is barely one interesting section in the whole track. Plus the race was exciting not because of the layout, but because half the field deciding to drive like idiots and also the amazement of the leader actually having reliability woes.

Know this is OT, but just want to make a quick note on the disappearance of the European GP title. It's almost symbolic of the direction the sport is going in. Bernie's moving ever further away from the sports traditional home. In my opinion, F1 needs a commercial presence in places like China and India, as well as North and South America, and I'm not opposed to that; if it could be done better in China, then it would be a good situation. However, races like Korea, Bahrain and Singapore (no matter how good the spectacle and some of the racing has been) in markets where F1 is already established (Japan and Abu Dhabi), and not having a French GP, whilst also losing tracks like Imola is diluting the calendar. But then no-one can afford to host a race until Ecclestone loosens his choke-hold on the sports finances, and starts giving more to the organisers and teams.

On a side note, I think we need the following tracks on the calendar for sporting history: Monza, Silverstone, Spa, Sao Paulo, Suzuka, Melbourne, Montreal and Monaco.